A holidaymaker came to the rescue of a group of paddling toddlers as he wrestled a shark heading towards them.

Paul Marshallsea was having a barbecue yesterday with his wife Wendy, 56, daughter Rachel, 21, and friends when he heard cries of ‘shark!’.

The grandfather, 62, ignored his own safety as he tackled the 2m (6ft 6in) dusky whaler, grabbing it by its tail. However, he nearly didn’t escape unscathed as the shark lashed out at him near the shore.

‘When I got the shark to just over knee deep he turned on me and just missed me with a bite,’ said the tourist from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.

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‘It nearly took my leg off in a split second, it was that quick.’

An Australian TV crew filming nearby caught Mr Marshallsea’s act of bravery on Bulcock Beach on the country’s Sunshine Coast.

‘Where this shark actually came ashore it’s shallow and a lot of babies and toddlers splash about there – it could have been very nasty,’ he said.

‘My instincts took over and I just grabbed the shark by the tail. I know it was dangerous but it almost looked beautiful. You have to respect a beautiful animal.’